Porter Novelli Unveils New Global Brand Identity

Porter Novelli today unveiled a new brand identity system in offices worldwide, including a new logo and color scheme, retiring the former identity system that has been the hallmark of the global agency for more than two decades.

„The time for public relations is now, and we must do more as an industry to show that we are best suited to help clients build and manage stakeholder relationships across the communications spectrum,“ said Gary Stockman, CEO, Porter Novelli. „With our new identity, Porter Novelli is making a bold statement about our leadership in helping clients transform their approach to marketing and communications. Our industry is profoundly different today, we are profoundly different today and our identity needs to signal that level of change to all of our stakeholders.“

Focused first on aligning internal audiences, the new identity was rolled out worldwide today timed to coincide with the start of business in the agency’s offices in Asia. Staff were greeted with transformed office environments featuring new signage. At the same time, the agency switched on a redesigned intranet and new agency website, porternovelli.com.

The identity was designed by world-renowned branding firm, Interbrand, which has designed identity systems for such global brands as AT&T, General Electric, Xerox and Thomson Reuters, among many others. The agency’s logo features a new graphic element, „The Transformer“ icon, which signals the agency’s transformational work for clients and its leadership role in the industry. It is displayed in saturated orange against bold white and black backgrounds.

„In a quick audit of the industry, we were met with a sea of sameness and content-heavy, very corporate looking identity systems that didn’t reflect the uniquely persuasive power of public relations,“ said Chris Campbell, executive creative director, Interbrand, who led the design team. „Porter Novelli has long been recognized as a pioneer in challenging the status quo. And since that value is what is making them successful in this new world order, we felt ‚The Transformer‘ icon we designed truly communicates the level of change they deliver for their clients.“

The identity system’s visual imagery focuses on the transformational effect of „deeper human insights,“ which is at the core of the agency’s value proposition. It also speaks to the integrated digital strategy and digital delivery systems that have transformed the way that the agency works, as well as its creative product.

The launch of the new brand identity system is the latest milestone in the agency’s reinvention. More than a year ago, Porter Novelli began a process that examined changing client needs and what the agency needed to do to thrive in the new global and socially networked world. The result was The PN Way – a clear articulation of the agency’s value proposition, a new client-centered structure and a focus on key areas of differentiation, such as insights and digital capabilities. Since then, the agency has hired many staff from outside of traditional public relations fields and has been brought on to take on fully integrated brand assignments for clients such as SOYJOY, which recently awarded Porter Novelli agency of record status in digital and integrated marketing, in addition to its existing media and stakeholder relations responsibilities.

Porter Novelli’s clients include such leading global brands as Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Timberland, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Almond Board of California, McDonald’s, Monster Worldwide, T-Mobile and Yahoo!